7th April 2026 - Day 18 - Costa Rica for Bird's Wildlife & Nature

A final morning at Quelitales in Costa Rica and after potting a few critters at the light I wandered up to the waterfall but no one else initially appeared so I explored around the back track and no sooner had I stepped foot on the track than a ginger bouncing ball on pink legs hopped along the path in front of me!  The Scaled Antpitta was back.  The light was very low but the bins did their job.  The LuLu relative spied a couple of worms and then bounded out of view. 

Pycnopalpa bicordata

A large and beautifully marked hawkmoth - Manduca schausi 

Another funky Pyrgotidae sp

I was torn between telling the crew and keeping quiet but they were a good bunch and hoped they would not be too bothered.  I returned to the main trail and watched the Verbenas and almost immediately a male Black-bellied Hummingbird turned up!  I really was in trouble now. 

Black-bellied Hummingbird

Ian and Charles then arrived and I told them of my finds and we quietly walked back onto the forest track but there was nothing to be seen.  I left them there and went back to the Verbena where of course the Black-belly came straight back in. 

We ambled back down and waited for the others to appear before having a final walk around the grounds and of course went straight back up to the waterfall where various Hummers appeared but not the BB.  The Coppery-headed Emerald and an immature male Green Thorntail were excellent though.

Coppery-headed Emerald

Coppery-headed Emerald - I think they got the wrong body part

Coppery-headed Emerald

Three of the four Ground-Sparrow / Brush-Finch thingies were seen and a pair of Cabanis’s Wrens were nest building alongside the track while Buff-rumped, Golden-winged, Blackburnian, Tennessee and Chestnut-sided Warblers gave us our last fix needed before going home.  A female Hoffmann's Woodpecker showed rather well and a Black-bellied Hummingbird thankfully whizzed through!

Chestnut-capped Brush-finch

Chestnut-capped Brush-finch

Hoffmann's Woodpecker

Hoffmann's Woodpecker

Keel-billed Toucans called from the cloud shrouded trees and the sound of Oropendolas echoed across the valley where White-collared and Vaux’s Swifts still zoomed.

Montezuma Oropendola

Montezuma Oropendola

The Sunbitterns were singing again and while I tracked one below us the others were watching the male in the gardens above me which then did this…

Sunbittern - Gill Rundle

Gill was very happy with this shot and rightly so!

Northern Tropical Pewee

Nun Orchid - Phaius tankervilleae

Quito-orange - Solanum quitoense

With a final breakfast completed we said goodbye to Jose and his wonderful team and began the journey back to San Jose although we did stop on the way at Café Christina to buy some of their lovely organic Coffee.  One day we shall have more time and will actually get to look around.

All too soon we were back at the airport and checking in in preparation for the long journey home via Bogota.  It had been a truly memorable tour with a great crew, a fantastic Fito and the ever upbeat Rey del Camino that is Ramon.  We had experienced almost 500 species of bird in 18 days along with such a plethora of other wildlife that simply leaves you overwhelmed on a daily basis.  I am already looking forward to my back to back tours in 2027 when I shall get to explore the southern half of this amazing country too.

Have a look here if you are interested in joining me on my next Costa Rican adventures: 

Ultimate Tour

and followed straight up with:

Southern Tour

Green = new for my global list

Pink = new for Costa Rica only